17th Century furniture discovery takes Hansons Auctioneers back in time

17th Century furniture discovery takes Hansons Auctioneers back in time

A routine house visit quickly became a journey through time for auction Charles Hanson – with a remarkable discovery of 17th century furniture.

Acquired over many years by a Staffordshire couple, the remarkable collection of furniture and paintings has been described by Hanson as “the finest 17th century oak furniture and furnishings I have seen in my career to date”.

The pieces, all fresh to the market, will now be offered in a single-owner sale at Hansons Auctioneers on January 12.

“On entering the house it was like going back in time to the period of Shakespeare,” says Hanson. “Every item of antique furnishing in the principal rooms dated back to the 17th century. From oak coffers to oak press cupboards and fourteen long case clocks from the late 17th century you really felt you were back in a period when Charles I was King of England….the property really had the feel of a time capsule.”

Included in the sale are numerous items, ranging from four four-poster beds to fifteen coffers, refectory tables, open armchairs and fourteen large longcase clocks. The auction will also feature the couple’s impressive range of fine paintings and tapestries.

One particular late 17th century painting was so large – measuring an enormous 6’ by 8’ – that a window had to be taken out to enable the company to remove it from the cottage.

According to Hanson, the furniture will be displayed exactly as it was discovered in the cottage, allowing bidders to discover the remarkable rooms for themselves. With the discovery garnering national attention, the sale is expected to attract collectors from across the country and possibly further afield.

‘The sale will start Hansons year off with a celebration of a period of antiques which we rarely see in private homes now,” said junior valuer Elizabeth Bailey. “The beautifully crafted pieces have a degree of patination which coincides with their four hundred year history. This is the type of furniture of which so much was lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666’.

A viewing day, complete with period food and costumes, will be held on January 11 – with the auction itself following on January 12.